Wapentake of Pocklington
In the time of King Edward the wapentake of Pocklington was held as one manor by the Earl Morcar. It has a large stone church and a priest who has served faithfully for many years. He is a learned man. It has a watermill and a second mill for the grinding of grain. Its size is 4 leagues long and 3 leagues wide. In the time of king Edward there were 25 pieces of land for the Geld tax. 15 of these were ploughed by over 35 men, who were villeins and borders. These men were unfree and so not allowed to leave the manor without the lord’s permission. There used to be three teams of oxen, many pigs in the woodland and a number of sheep. The manor was worth £56. Today this land is owned by King William and there are 18 villeins and borders working with 5 ploughs. There are 13 pieces of land for the Geld tax. There are 4 tenants who pay 30s rent. These include the tenants Robert Maletand William de Percy. There is one oxen team and very few pigs. The manor is worth £8.
The manor also has land to the total of 55.5 pieces of land for the Geld tax in the nearby villages of Nunburnholme, Meltonby, Millington, Grimthorpe, Fangfoss, Barmby Moor, Givendale, Allerthorpe, Waplington and Burnby. There could be 30 ploughs on this land, but the land is not being ploughed at the current time. The manor of Pocklington also controls land in Thorpe le Street that is now held by Gilbert Tison. This land used to be worth 20 shillings, but it is now also wasteland. In Youlthorpe the manor of Pocklington has 4 pieces of land for the Geld tax. It is now owned by Odo the Crossbowman. There could be many ploughs there, but it is wasteland at the present time.
The church has a manor held by the Archbishop of York in this wapentake. There were 6 ploughs and now there are 9. However the manor’s value has dropped from 100 shillings to 40 shillings.
The King claims that two pieces of land for the Geld tax that Nigel Fossard has in South Driffield are rightfully part of the manor of Pocklington. There are also claims from the manor of Pocklington on other places, for example land held by Robert the Count of Mortain in Sutton upon Derwent and land held by Hugh Fitzbaldric in Kelfield. Hugh, a local man of Cottingham, is the son of the great Saxon thane, Balderic, born in Normandy. His mother came from the German lands.
Wapentake of Warter
In the time of King Edward, the Earl Morcar had a manor here. It has a small stone church with its own priest. There is a mill for the grinding of rye grain, which grows well in this area. Beans and peas are also grown. The land is well-drained and water is from springs. This village has 20 acres of fertile meadowland and is 2 leagues long and 2 leagues wide. In the time of King Edward Earl Morcar had control of over 20 villeins. These unfree men ploughed 29 pieces of land for the Geld tax and 15 were ploughed for the Earl. This manor was rich in pigs and sheep and ran three teams of oxen. The land was worth £40. There were three beehives belonging to the Earl. Today the land that was Earl Morcar’s is owned by King William. There are 20 pieces of land to Geld tax. There are 10 villeins and 2 ploughs. There is now but one oxen team and few other animals. The land has fallen in value to 30 shillings.
In Huggate the 8 pieces of land for the Geld tax that used to belong to Barth are now King William’s. In the same place the 8 pieces that Ingfrith had are with Earnwine the priest. All this land is waste.
In Nunburnholme, the King’s thegnForne holds the land from King William. Morcar, Thorfridth and Thorkil used to have the land at Nunburnholme. They had 6 ploughs on 11 pieces of land for the Geld tax. Now it is waste.
Northmann also had 2 ploughs on 4 pieces of land for the Geld tax. On the land in this wapentake that was Northmann’s, Geoffrey is now a tenant of William de Percy. De Percy has 4 pieces of land for the Geld tax, but this land is waste.
Wapentake of Ainsty
In the time of King Edward the Minster church of St Peter in York had Acomb as one manor. There were 14.5 pieces of land for the Geld tax. There could be 8 ploughs on this land. There used to be 16 rent-paying tenants. The Minster of St Peter in York still holds this land. Today 14 tenants use 7 ploughs. The manor had and has 6 acres of fine meadowland and an area of land that is uncultivated. The whole manor is 1 league long and 1 league wide. It was worth 30 shillings in the time of King Edward and is still worth that today. Ulfkil also had and has two pieces of Geld tax land worth 4 shillings. He had 1 plough, and now has half that. He also has some woodland with pigs. King William claims two pieces of land for the Geld tax in this manor too.
In the time of King Edward the Minster Cathedral Church of St Peter had Poppleton manor. Eight pieces of land were available for geld tax. There were 4 ploughs. The land was worth 40 shillings. Some land that was held by Oda the Deacon, priest of the local church is now held by Osbernd’Arques. He has 2 villeins with one plough on this land.
There is a claim that 6.5 pieces of geld tax land in Poppleton held by Robert Malet should not be rented to Osbernd’Arques but should be rented by Earnwine the priest. Earnwine had previously rented the land in the time of King Edward. This disputed land was worth 20 shillings but is now worth 8 shillings. You should note that Robert Malet claims that OsbernD’Arques is holding many pieces of land that should be in his, Robert’s, control because his father William Malet had them. William Malet, father of Robert, was taken by the Danes several years after the Battle of Hastings. He had already acquired much land and his son Robert now claims it.
The rest of the land is still owned by the Archbishop of York but there are now only 1 and half ploughs, one priest and two villeins. The 12 acres of land and the woodland pasture are now uncultivated. There are now fewer sheep. The land is worth 18 shillings and 8 pence..
In the reign of King Edward there were 8 pieces of land for the Geld tax at Askham Bryan. There were 4 ploughs at this time. Earl Edwin had a manor here. Today there are two ploughs that Count Alan controls and there are 8 villains who work another 4 ploughs. There are 3 acres of meadow and a league of woodland. Most of the manor is woodland and is very rich in pigs. It was worth £3 in the reign of King Edward. It is still worth £3.
Wapentake of Howden
In the reign of King Edward the manor of Howden was owned by King Edward and was worth £40. It is now owned by the church in the hands of the Prince Bishop of Durham. There are 51 pieces of land for the Geld tax. On the main manor there are 15 piece of lands. The rest of the land for Geld tax is in the outlying areas, called berewicks. In King Edward’s time there were six oxen teams and it was possible to have 30 ploughs. The Prince Bishop of Durham now controls 19 ploughs used by 65 villeins and 23 borders. These are all unfree men who require his permission to leave the manor. They have but one oxen team. There is a stone church, that was used as a Minster, before other churches were built in the surrounding area. Now there is one priest and he is known to the Bishop. There are no other priests in this wapentake, and the people come back to the main manor for their worship. The manor also has 3 leagues of woodland pasture. It used to be rich in pigs. In the days of King Edward this was rich land with many sheep and cattle. The land is now worth just £12. All the outlying berewick areas are now wasteland. Robert Count of Mortain holds land in the berewicks of North and South Duffield and Cliffe. He has over 14 pieces of land for Geld tax here. In theory there could be about 6 ploughs, but the land is all uncultivated at the current time.
Wapentake of Barkston
In the reign of King Edward the land on the manor of Tadcaster was owned by Dunstan and Thorkil. They had 8 pieces of land for the Geld tax and had 4 ploughs. There were only 12 villeins in those days. Today William de Percy has control of 7 ploughs. The manor has prospered and there are 19 villeins and 11 borders. These unfree men work hard for their lord. Tadcaster has 2 mills for the grinding of corn. Today they bring William de Percy 10 shillings. The river is rich in fish and the Tadcaster fishery brings in 5 shillings. With 16 acres of good meadowland, there is grazing for cattle. The manor is 5 furlongs long and broad. It was worth 40 shillings in the time of King Edward and is now worth 100 shillings.
The Clifford Manor was worth 40 shillings in the time of King Edward, but today it is worth but 10 shillings. It has 6 pieces of land for the Geld tax and there could be 4 ploughs. In those days it was owned by Ligulf as one manor. It is now owned by Count Robert of Mortain and is tenanted by Nigel Fossard. Nigel has control of 8 ploughs, with 3 villeins who are unfree and must not leave the manor without his permission. There is one mill for the grinding of the corn that makes 2 shillings for Nigel. There is 4 furlongs long and 3 furlongs broad of uncultivated land that could be put to use.
Robert Count of Mortain also took the manor of Bramham from Ligulf. This manor has 12 pieces of land for Gled tax and there could be 8 ploughs used. It was worth £8 when Ligulf held it in the time of King Edward. Now it is worth but 50 shillings. Nigel Fossard also has control of 8.5 ploughs and 15 villeins. There used to be a mill, but it has now gone. There is a stone church with its own priest. There is woodland pasture of 2 leagues long, but the pigs are not so plentiful as they used to be. This manor also owns land in Monk Hay, Toulston, Oglethorpe and Newton Kyme. All this land totals 6 pieces of land for Geld tax.
Osbernd’Arques claims that Wulfbert held all the land in Thorner, and so should he. There are four manors in question. Some of the men of this Barkston wapentake say that the land is not Osbern’s because it is inside the boundaries of the castle of Ilbert de Lacy.
Wapentake of Cave
In the reign of King Edward the manor of South Cave was owned by Gamul. It was worth £12 in those days. Gamul had 24 pieces of land for Geld tax. There was land for 12 ploughs. There is a stone church with a priest. There used to be two thriving mills, but these are now in ruins. The land is now owned by Robert Malet. He has control of 12 ploughs. 30 villeins work these ploughs and are unfree. There is woodland, pasture and land that is currently not cultivated. The manor is 7 leagues long and is now worth 100 shillings.
The land in North Cave was owned by Thorth, Basinc, Muli, Ealdraed, Thorsten and Wulfgeat. It was worth 70 shillings. It is now owned as one manor by Robert Malet. His land is now valued at 13 shillings. On this land he controls 6 villeins and 4 borders with 3.5 ploughs. The villeins and borders are not free peasants. Most of this land is now waste.
In Edward’s reign the land in Hotham was owned by Orm and Basinc. It only held one plough. It was worth 30 shillings, but now it is owned by Count Robert of Mortain it is waste. The land that is part of this manor in Yokefleet is also waste.
In this wapentake there is also church land. It is held by the Bishop of Durham.
There are other small parcels of land in this hundred that used to have value, such as Kettlethorpe, Drewton and Hunsley. These are now owned by men such as Count Robert of Mortain, Hugh Fitzbaldric, the King, the Prince Bishop of Durham, Ralph de Mortimer and Gilbert Tisson, but all these lands are waste.
In North Cave, Nigel Fossard has land that was Ulf the father of Northmann’s in the time of King Edward. It was then held by William Malet and the jurors say that Fossard’s claim is good.
Wapentake of York
The City of York at the time of King Edward had seven shires. One of these has been laid waste to make space for the castles of King William. The other five shires had 1418 inhabited houses at the time of King Edward. Now, but 393 houses are inhabited by English men. 540 houses are empty and worthless. Frenchmen live in 145 house. The Archbishop of York controls one shire and part of another.
There is a claim that the house belonging to the church is St Cuthbert should be paying tax, but the church argues it was empty at the time of King Edward. There are disputes between the King and the Church over some dwellings.
The Count of Mortain has 14 houses, 2 stalls for meat sales in the Shambles and owns the church of St Crux at the bottom of that street. Mortain’s houses used to belong to Sunulf the priest, Morulf, Sterri, Gamal with 4 soldiers, Snarri, Arnketil, Lyfing the priest, Thorfinnr and Ligulf. Nigel Fossard has two houses by right from the King and has two more that are claimed by the Bishop of Coutances. William de Percy has 14 houses taken from former owners. Hugh Fitzbaldric has 33 houses and a church. Robert Malet has 9 houses. Odo the Crossbowman has 3 houses and the church of the Holy Trinity.
Worth was £53 and is now worth £100.
In the Archbishop’s shire there were 200 inhabited houses, now there are 100. The Archbishop has his palace here.
When the King built his fishpool, two new mills were destroyed. Meadows and gardens were also lost.
Many of the Norman lords have land within the boundaries of the city. One of these is Count Alan who holds Gate Fulford. This was the land of Earl Morcar. Morcar had 5 ploughs, but Count Alan has control of 4 ploughs, with 6 villeins. Count Alan also has land in Clifton that had belonged to Morcar. There were 18 pieces of land for the Geld tax here that supported 9 tax. It used to be worth 20 shillings, but now it is waste. In Clifton, 37 of the 50 acres of land belong to the church and are held by the Archbishop of York and the Minster. This church land has not decreased in value since the time of King Edward. In Naburn, Robert Malet has given up 2 pieces of land for the Geld tax that once was Thorkil’s and is now in the hands of Geoffrey de Beauchamps.
Wapentake of Acklam
In Acklam itself Robert Count of Mortain now has 2.5 pieces of land for the Geld tax. Whatever it was worth in 1066, it is now wasteland. Meanwhile the King has 10.5 pieces of land for the Geld tax that used to belong to Siward. There used to be 4 ploughs in the time of King Edward. Now two men hold the land for the King and there are just 2 ploughs. There is a church built of stone, which has a priest. This land of the King’s is now worth 10 shillings.
In Kirkham there is fine fishing to be had in the river. Waltheof used to own the manor. Now Count Robert of Mortain has these 8 pieces of land for the Geld tax. There used to be 8 ploughs, but now there are but 6. Of all the men who lived here, only 12 villeins remain. There is a mill on the river and a fine stone church with its own priest. The woodland pasture is particularly fertile. There used to be many pigs. At the time of King Edward it was worth £3 and is now worth but 40 shillings.
There are many other small manors in this wapentake. They used to be owned by Anglo-Saxon men and are now held by either the King and Robert Count of Mortain. Most of them have declined in value. Odo the Crossbowman also has acquired 12 pieces of land to the Geld and Hugh Fitzbaldric also has 12 such pieces. Both got their land from thanes of King Edward.
In this wapentake the Minster of St Peter in York owns 2 rent-paying tenants in Bugthorpe who pay 20 shillings and 4 pence. The Archbishop has land in Fridaythorpe. These lands have been in church hands since the time of King Edward.
Some of King William’s thegns have land to the total of 15.5 pieces of land for the Geld Tax. Siward, Sprot, Kolbrand, Odfrid and Gillebride owned it before. It is now owned by four of the King’s thegns. They have land for 5 ploughs, there is a church and the control 10 unfree men. It was worth 50 shillings and is now worth 40 shillings.